Badass Entries

Monday, June 11, 2007

The weakness is my lack of writing for the competition. The sermon was my father's. I spent the weekend out at my parents' house, wishing my mum a happy birthday. Today my father, an Elder at his church, gave a terrific sermon on the need to be spiritual and not religious. This is a major peeve of mine. Too many times, I see young kids accepting Christianity and then wanting to strongarm everyone else into their newfound "cause". That's the trouble with youth, they bullrush into making everything happen on their own strength rather then relying on a bit of a faith. Strength of the flesh rather then the strength of faith. That's a long entry for another time, a lengthy rant upon my own failings as a person. Onwards and ever upwards, so we toil.

Speaking of failings, I failed to get a chunk of writing done, as I spent most of time today and yesterday with my parents and little brother, who I do not get to see as often as I'd like. Since they live in the country, it's tough to get together and see everyone. So it was a nice interlude from the busy life, getting out to Valley. Going to church today reminded me I desperately need to find my own church out here in the city. I need good spiritual people around me, I miss that fellowship.

As I hung out with my folks, we talked about the next several years and the things upcoming; my father wants to bring his RV up to the state, our desire to build some form of vehicle, tuition costs and financial status, my plans to move to Seattle after the University and so on. It dawned on me that I will be 21 next year. Twenty and one. My parents had been married for one year at that point.

I think I'm at the point where I want some form of long-term committed relationship. I don't think I was really ready at other points, what a long-term relationship really meant hadn't dawned on me. Now as I look at where I'm at in life and realize I'm looking at the start of a career by next year, I think I'm ready for the next step. I want... stability. I want foundation. I'm living here in the city by myself, with a steady job and solid educational framework. Next year I can pick up a more lucrative career with the police department as a reserve or part-time officer.

We'll see what's in store. I have faith, I've learned (through some very bitter and painful lessons) that whatever the Lord has in store is what I want. So it's cruise control for me, just lean back and have faith. No managing, no strong-arming. I will not create what I think I want. I will simply follow the path before me. Doors are opening faster then I can go through them, so it's working. The next few years will be very interesting.

I just hope I'm ultimately in Seattle by 2010 with a wife, a Seattle Police Department job and a hectic Master's degree program at University of Washington.

I also hope that tomorrow you will see my 1,000 words. I have yet to see Jay's go up, so hopefully I'm not horribly behind.

Thursday, July 06, 2006

I was sitting on a beautiful island, the amazing deep blue ocean swelling and crashing onto the white sands beach. Behind me sprawled a lazy grass-hut village, with islanders going about their peaceful lives. It was not unlike natives of New Guinea or Hawaii, brown-skinned people existing on a wonderful paradise island that featured jungles and beaches.

I was some kind of captain or chief, it was unclear. I served an advisory role to someone, that was foggy as well. I remember exploring the island and discovering a vast tunnel system that led to huge underground rooms, all with an Aztec architecture. This wasn't right, the Aztecs were not only of a different time period but also thousands of miles way in Central America.

I remember looking out over the ocean, pondering this, when I saw ships bearing down the island. I whipped out my binoculars and saw clearly those on the decks: Maori warriors from nearby New Zealand. They had a fleet of steampunk ships, not unlike the technology found in Alpha Shade. It was a "wtf?" moment, I yelled that they shouldn't have that technology yet, it wasn't even the right period. Nevertheless, we were being invaded by vicious Maori men and we needed a defense.

Quickly I had the villagers make slings, bow and arrows, polearms and other weapons in defense. I armed the entire group and trained them how to fight as the Maori approached. I ordered defenses, they piled high walls of bamboo around the village as the steam-spewing vessels arrived at a nearby beach and spilled thousands of decorated warriors onto the beaches. The villagers shot arrows and I plunged into the Maori, throwing them around like stacks of wood and cleaving heads. I remember felling one and realizing something was wrong.

They had genetically created sub-castes! There were different variations of Maori. I knew there was no winning. I shouted everyone to go down the tiny hole near the village that led to the Aztec-like rooms. We held off the Maori as everyone streamed down the tiny hole before I slid down and tried to seal it off with a huge Aztec-carved stone. Maori followed us but we were in luck; the tunnels had defensive systems in place and killed hundreds with lasers and mines. I remember a huge room, easily hundreds of stories tall, filled with singing arrows and shouts of warriors. I remember leading a group of villages across one of the dozen rope bridges towards the oncoming Maori warriors...

Then I woke up. Man, what the hell. I have some really weird dreams. But man, those steampunk Maori were awesome, I want their ships.

The Village Warrior,- Maddogi must be dreaming(One of the most bizarre and complex dreams ever that I had last night. I usually
restrain from the whole "tell me your dream" thing because, as a recent
study reports, people are bored to death with dreams due to the fact
that they have no applicable use. This one was so weird it deserved a proper write-up. It was a combination of my love of weapons, military, steampunk and everything I learned in my Anthropology classes.)

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

I finally hammered out that ten-page research paper, totally whipping it into existence in one day. It was epic. Like the training of Rocky (I finally saw that movie). I wrote my paper on Federal involvement in schools and took it to the Writing Tutor who was on duty in the Learning Resource Duty. She started reading it and kept going, "Yes!" "Wow, interesting" "I want to sit right down and just read this thing". She said it was an excellent paper and that she loved it. She said it read more like a Master dissertation then anything, which I thought was cool. Anyways, so I turned it in. Since it went so well, I also make it available here.

Sunday, January 29, 2006

So. Here we find ourselves once again, standing on the crossroads of decisions. Not exactly sure which way to go but knowing that each path is completely unmistakable from the other. Each path offers different rewards and yet different perils. One leads you to greatness, one to obscurity. One path is the closest to your goal. So, here I am. It's 10:32, I have a 500-word essay that is due tomorrow. Do I write the essay or do I post on my bare blog in hopes of finishing the Essay henceforth?

I think you know which pathway I have trodden upon.

Well, I had a beautiful piece that would have extremely impressed everyone who read it. It would have caused cries of wonder at my stunning intellect as I talked about Jerome Bettis, the 270-pound running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers, or when I mentioned how totally stoked I am that the Seahawks are going to the Superbowl. Ah, well. Simply cast me in such a favorable light now and all will be fixed. Friggin' TypePad. Ruining it for me...

Well, where should we start? Perhaps at the beginning of my tale. You are looking at a new man.

Thursday, December 08, 2005

Today is the 25th Anniversary of John Lennon's murder. 1940 to 1980. And while I never did agree with his philosophy or thoughts, he was an excellent singer and was involved with the Beatles. This means he was a worthy person and it was a great loss to lose him. Rest in peace, Lennon.

Monday, November 14, 2005

Grades came back from classes, pulling As and Bs in all of them, thank God. Wednesday I teach a segment of the Myth class due to the instructor leaving on a vacation. Thankfully, I got an insanely easy Myth, the Myth of Midas and his golden touch. Should be a piece of cake.

Mouse died today, totally weird. Got a new one. Yeaa for simple joys.

Tomorrow I get to go over and photograph models! Actually, Sarah's modeling some jacket or some such for an Ebay Auction. I snap a few pics, that's that. Wish I had proper equipment for major shoots. Unfortunately, the poor student stereotype exists...

The drama I'm providing Technical Assitance is really kicking it up a notch. Extra rehearsals and some major changes to the script is beginning to affect people. And I've got to figure out all these technical problems (sound clips and effects, so on). Most of them aren't that big of a deal but it's just more of a time drainer.

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Of all the mythological heroes, I'd want to be like Hector. The guy, a Prince of Troy, is a great and worthy warrior. He's admired like no other in Troy as a "glorious man". He's happily married to a superb, faithful, doting wife. He is Troy's greatest warrior and totally macho. He is considered the worthy opponent of Achilles, who is freakin' immortal and the greatest warrior on Earth. Hector gives the guy a run for his money in battle and proves to be this worthy, honorable foe. He dies in glorious combat, this incredibly honorable death. He's so amazing that it says the Greeks held him in constant awe. Then the battle has a truce so Troy can mourn their lost "like no other". For nine days, they weep over this totally macho dude. That doesn't sound half-bad to me. Good life, considered the ultimate dude, die in an epic way, missed horribly.

Yes, I am stuck on my Mythology test currently. We're doing an in-depth study of Greek Mythology, next up is a look at Tolkien's works and Norse Mythology. I'm writing a major research paper that studies how Tolkien was influenced by Celtic and Norse writings and the impact it has on the current modern Fantasy setting.

Sunday, May 29, 2005

So June 4th will see me stepdown as Editor-in-Chief for the Keystone Connection. While I enjoyed the people I worked with and our fun times together, the conflict of mentalities drove me crazy. The expectance of quality was pretty ridiclous and getting anything done was a slow, painstaking process. The paper has really died down quite a bit, with people fast losing interest so I think I'm getting out at the right time. I have written a goodbye piece for My Word, co-written by Emily Syrenne (Otherwise known as MLE or EmmaLeta, the Swedish Swiss Supermodel). Here it is, in it's entirety:

Monday, May 23, 2005

I went to Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith with Chad, Matt and Sarah last Wednesday at the opening Midnight Showing for the State of Alaska. This was an awesome time. Chad's got a great report written up, placed on Evermore, and I want to elaborate a bit on it. Everyone got interviewed and filmed by the Channel 2 News with my Interview making the cut. Haven't seen the video yet. When we entered the theater, there was some geeks going around and scoring people's costumes. I got a perfect score, with Sarah's fine rendition of Leia making a close second. When we passed the huge lines to get to the theater (some people had been there since the night before!), people broke out into applause. It was way cool. The rest of the time we stood in pictures for everyone. We spent over four hours doing nothing but getting our pictures taken. It was awesome. When we all moved into the theater, we saw several pictures of us on Camera Phones. I also participated in a lightsaber battle but fighting in a vinyl suite with nothing to see but the red glow of your enemy's saber doesn't bode well for your chances. If you want to see some pictures of our trip, this will slate you thirst. I don't remember much of the movie from that single, solitary experience. I went and saw it again in the Mat-Su Theater and here's my impressions:

(I hate stupid spoiler warnings so if you think you are going to read
this without the movie being ruined, then you are an idiot)

It was very good. Acting was still bad (and I know Hayden is a good actor after seeing the wonderful movie Shattered Glass) but it was well-done in the areas it needed it. I didn't like the scenes with the droids in the beginning, where they made a real effort to force humor. It didn't go over well. The opening action scenes were well done and the chemistry between Anakin and Obi-wan during the scenes was very good. The love scenes weren't as bad and I think the reason why is because Lucas kept them very, very short. They were interspersed throughout the movie so one didn't suffer Attack of the Clones' "I wish I could just wish away my feelings!". A few love scenes that managed to pull the needed punch, barely. The politics was decent as well and Palptine came across perfectly. I really enjoyed the Ballet scene, with the dark and ominous conversation, and the others with Ian McKellen as well. The seduction of Anakin was sufficient I believe. As was his turning over to the Dark Side. I got the sense that everything Anaking did was for his desire to save Padme, whatever the cost. This is exactly what was needed. The betrayal of the Jedi and Anakin's ruthless destruction was all flawless. I got the chills during the scene where he murdered the younglings. Proper evil displayed. The final scene, the Volcano Duel and the most important scene, was perfect. This scene was truly the Star Wars capstone, the one block that sets all the others to rest. I was horridly anxious to see this well carried out and it was. Hayden conveyed the emotions to perfection and Ewan showed he was truly the superior man that Anakin was attempting to become. It was a 28 year journey to see it and I'm glad it happened with such a shining end. There were weak points, many of them in fact. However, Revenge has the feeling of a tired runner, stumbling and tripping, barely crashing into the Finish Line tape ahead of the other runners and collapsing exhausted while you, the viewer, smile at the panting figure with affection and pat it on the head, saying "Well done, well ran." Star Wars has truly had a good run. It's not over either. The Star Wars Television series will keep the franchise (and, more importantly, the money) going but the main part of the saga we all know and love is done and finished. I, a fan, am satisfied.

I've been reading a lot of books lately. I finished The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling which was very good. I love steampunk writings and The Difference Engine is one of the founding novels of the obscure genre. If you like things like Daisy Kutter, Flight, H.G Wells or Jules Verne, then I recommend looking into steampunk and trying out some works. I also plowed through the novel version of Revenge of the Sith. It always helps to read the novels on the Star Wars movies to see what Lucas intended them to be. It was a fast read (four hours) and sent by my kind grandmother in Washington. It was well-done, I've always liked Matthew Stover's stuff. I'd recommend it if you like Star Wars in any capacity. I'm currently reading many books. I'm almost done with Crisis. It's about President Jimmy Carter's last year in office and it's written by Hamilton Jordan, Carter's political adviser. It deals mostly with Hamilton's experience in the White House and the Iranian Hostage Crisis. Since Jordan was Carter's go-to guy on the Hostages, it's a fascinating read. Extremely well written, it's really suspenseful and laid out in a daily journal style. I love politics and foriegn affairs and this book has me hooked. It's fascinating to read about Carter and what they went through during that tough year. I'm about halfway through The Hunt For Bin Laden by Robin Moore. It's mostly about the Green Beret's involvement in Afghanistan. Military thrillers are always a favorite of mine so I thought this would be a good read but I've been disappointed. It's pretty receptive and poorly written. But it does give a good glimpse into the Green Berets, Afghanistan and how the war was fought over there. In that light, it's a good read but I'm having trouble wading through it. I need to just sit down and finish the book. In addition to those, I'm currently reading two Henry Kissinger books, Diplomacy and White House Years. Both are superb. Kissinger is a fascinating, egotistical, foreign policy genius. I'm really enjoying Diplomacy because it's a diplomatic history book, dealing from Early History all the way to post-Vietnam. Wonderful reading, it provides some great information on the Art of Diplomacy and historical political maneuver. I'm enjoying it immensely, even though it's slow-going with the many things I'm currently doing.White House Years is one of three books of Kissinger's memoirs. This guy wrote a ton as this book is over 1500 pages long, with the other two books being 1400 and 1100 pages. That is some memoirs! White House Years is a wonderful look into Kissinger's mind and the activities of a major White House figure. Politics is so complex and it's some slow reading through the complicated picture Kissinger paints. It covers his first four years as National Security Adviser, January 1969 to January 1973. Really intriguing, I have no idea how long it'll take me to finish this. Finally, the book I'm really looking forwards to starting is In Memory Yet Green: The Autobiography of Issac Asimov, 1920-1954. I love Asimov, he was an incredibly talented man. Sure, some of his writings have been called "wooden" but they were full of imagination and incredible stories. I've always been a great lover of his works. I am really looking forward to reading this book but I've promised myself I won't start it until I've finished another book. Currently, I'm chipping away at Crisis so I can start it.

I've been asked sometimes where I know that one certain fact or how come I know so much on the Battle of Gettysburg and I always answer, "I read it." If I read something, I've got it memorized. I have a horrible short-term memory but if I write or read something, I almost never forget it. It's one reason why I can have so many books that I read all at once. When I pick the book back up after a month or so, I remember exactly where I am and with a quick flip through, can totally recall everything that I have read so far. I truly love reading and it's probably my greatest pleasure. If there is one thing I hope I can pass on to my offspring, it is my desire to read. Reading the is the single most fundamental skill a person can have, for Reading is the tool to gain knowledge. I think I learned my love for reading and for history from the Landmark series. They were books written by well-known authors, many of whom I'd go on to admire, for children. They weren't dumbed down like most children books today are but were instead written practically and plainly about a variety of historical occurrences, like the D-Day Landings, the Great Depression and Julius Ceaser. I've told my mother to keep all of them and as soon as I have an apartment I'll have the books shipped down to start my library. We always had a ton of books at my home. At one point, we estimated having a library of over 2,000 books. My personal, private library of military history and science books alone is over 100 titles of major military classics like Sun-Tzu, Martin Gilbert, John Keegan and others. I hope to have one day an immense, expanding library of titles on all subjects. I have a great many history, political and miltary science books but I need books on such subjects as Philosphy, Mathmatics, Religion, Behaviorial Sciences and Social Sciences. Books are the best teachers of knowledge. I guess when I look at today's current youth and see them saying such things as "I hate reading", I'm filled with great sadness. It is this generation's greatest tragedy, I believe. Some people say "The internet has killed books" and I laugh at such statements. The internet, a fine and wonderful tool of both knowledge, entertainment, community and evil, does not carry the same weight and authority that books have. I know when I flip open a John Keegan or a Henry Kissinger book, what I am getting inside is a wealth of knowledge by people who have experience in these things and can form an opinion, one I may agree or disagree with. However, when I stumble upon information at a website, I must say (like I usually do when I read The New York Times) "What if this was true!" There are still a great pathway of knowledge and insight that I garner from the internet. Blogs is where I gather opinions like a Californian farmer may gather oranges and I rely on technical sites for hard data. But when it comes time to either immerse myself in some other world or to study some distant idea and thought, I'll always turn to books and reading. It is this loss in our culture that I dread. So I plead, I implore you, please, please read. Grab a book and learn. Those video-games won't do a whole lot for you.

Woah. I meant to write a Star Wars review and I came up with an Evermore piece. I'll post various bits on my blogs (Evermore and Dice Theory). Thanks for wading through all that. Today, I must finish this essay I'm writing for Alaska Pacific University and then make plans to go see Revenge of the Sith again with the crew. I'll check back here more often, I promise. Now that my grandparents have left, I have time once again! Stay awesome, dear reader.

Monday, March 14, 2005

Curse the Internet and it's sudden but inevitable betrayal. Here I was, peacefully typing a post when all of sudden, a torrent of Internet goblins washed everything I typed away. To show them I do not cower easily, I've reclaimed and rebuilt this land, to successfully communicate to you, my patrons. No evilness shall keep my profound ponderings and wise words from your ears.

So, my weekend is over. I spent most of it prepping and readying Chad's Eagle Scout Court of Honor, for which I had the honor of being Master of Ceremonies. It went over well, people enjoyed the ceremonies and laughed at my stories about scouting with Chad. Good fun. Now I'm looking at a massive pile of work I have in front of me. Not fun.

As I was driving home from the CoH, I realized a shocking fact. With Chad an Eagle Scout and out of the Troop, I'm now the guy that's been in the troop the longest. And Zack and I are the oldest guys in there. Chad's going to be moving to Fairbanks to attend UAF after our summer job and I'll be (hopefully) going to Alaska Pacific University. In fact, after the gang's trip to Indiana in August, we are pretty much breaking up. And that's when I realized: The first phase of my life is over.

Really, all the friends I've known during highschool, all the stuff I've done during that timeframe is coming to close. These next few months are going to see the end of a phase and a new beginning. I knew it was coming but to sit back and see it all happen is kinda of a sobering experience. Don't get me wrong, I'm going to enjoy the new experiences and I'm looking forward to college. It's just that I feel like I'm on top of everything, finally worked to the top stage and now I'm looking at restarting. I'm going to have to adjust to new settings, new situations, new people.

I'm looking forward to the new adventure, that's for sure. I'm excited and ready to go. I really want to begin my life. It's a little sobering though to look at everything that's going to be left behind. I feel like those cowboys at the end of the Western, where they look back at the town they just saved where all the townspeople are waving. They give one final look, one final wave, and then they turn the horse around and ride into the sunset...